The Sega Game Gear

Blast From The Past Retro Sega Game Gear Games Handheld Game Console Plus Popular Video Game Music MP3 Download

A legend in the ‘handheld gaming’ hall of fame, the Sega Game Gear is a classic example of a popular retro handheld gaming console.

For those who missed out, Sega’s 8 bit, full color Game Gear was the third ever handheld console and was release back 1991 in competition with perhaps the more popular, Nintendo Game Boy.

The Game Gear was basically a Sega Master System housed in a portable case, boasting a 3.2 inch wide color screen that had a slightly lower resolution than the Master System, but which allowed for a larger color palette.

Sega Game Gear

Gameplay and graphics were certainly hi-tech for it’s time, so much so that the Game Gear is still extremely playable, especially for the those who enjoy classic arcade beat em’ ups, racing games and platform games like Sonic The Hedgehog, Streets Of Rage and Road Rash.

The slower refresh rate of the Game Gear could cause fast moving games to be slightly blurred and the contrast and brightness of the screen made it difficult to play in brightly lit areas. The battery life was also quite low; six AA batteries only provided enough power for 5 hours gameplay. Apart from these points the Game Gear was and still is a lot of fun.

The console started out with a mere 6 titles when it was first introduced. Over the years Sega released a massive 300 Game Gear titles, and with the addition of the Master Gear Converter, another 219 Master System games were also playable.

Sega Game Gear Games

Like all consoles at the time, the games came in a durable molded plastic case. The design and build quality of these games were so good that many are still in good working condition, some can even be found boxed and unopened.

Unfortunately, the same can not be said about the console itself. As the Game Gear was marketed to the younger audience, many had a hard life and were not treated with care; this means that genuine Sega Game Gears in good condition can be a little difficult to come by.

The original Sega Game Gear speakers were known to fail; this is a good thing to check for if you’re looking to pick one up.

If you’re not too concerned about appearance or sound quality, getting hold of a second hand Game Gear should be no problem. A company called Majesco, released a core version of the Game Gear in 2000 and these are also easy to find.

Although the Majesco Core Game Gear came with a slightly faster refresh rate and better speakers, the display was not in color and it did not support the Game Gear television tuner accessory.

Sega Game Gear TV Tuner

The accessories played a major part in the Game Gears popularity and playability. There were a wide range of interesting peripherals released including:

TV Tuner – Allows your Game Gear to tune into TV broadcast signals. A coaxial cable to mini pin adapter can also allow the Game Gear to receive cable TV signals and enables the unit be used as a camera monitor/playback screen

AC Adapter And Car Adapter – Allows for uninterrupted gameplay when plugged in, can also charge battery packs whilst in use

Rechargeable Battery Packs – There were two types of battery pack released. One comes with a belt clip and the other attaches to the Game Gear itself. Both units contain NiCad batteries, which given their age, are often worn out but are also easily replaced

Master Gear Converter – Allows Master System games to be played to the Game Gear

The Game Gear was reincarnated once again in late 2006 by several brands including Coleco and Playpal. This smaller handheld device was powered by just 3 AAA batteries, had a brighter screen and contained 20 built-in games.

There are now many Game Gear emulators available for a number of devices including the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Windows Mobile, iPod, PC and the PlayStation Portable. There are also software emulators for the PC, Mac, and Linux.

Game Gear games have also been added to the Wii’s Virtual Console under the label of the Sega Master System.

With so many companies offering solutions for Game Gear gaming, it’s undeniable that the Sega Game Gear made its mark in history. If you’re reminiscing about the old days but you haven’t yet got your hands on this classic handheld console, then pop over to VG Music’s website where you can listen to your favorite Sega Game Gear Soundtracks.

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3 Comments

GameGear4ever / May 3, 2008

The Majesco Game Gear did have a color screen. I own 2 Sega and one Majesco and aside from tuner compatibility, the Majesco is an excellent reproduction, having a better speaker and a clearer screen ( though this could be because it has far less hours on it). The Majesco also squeezes an extra hour and a half out of the batteries.